Our Warzone
by reinfleche
Summary: Attack on Titan AU. Pre-fall of Wall Maria. Noel/Hope. Warnings for gore and language.
1. Our Warzone

"Hello? Is anybody there?" he calls out helplessly.

His squadron is decimated, gone. At least in the clearing where he'd passed out, all he can see are remains. He can't see where his squad leader, Lightning has gone. He hopes she'd pulled back when the situation was compromised. Hope, oh the irony.

"Estheim?" a voice responds back to his call. "That you?"

He spots the source of the noise leaning on one of the Titan's Forest's massive trees. A brown-haired boy wearing the same jacket as he has, save for the dirt stains and torn sleeve. His vertical maneuvering gear still attached to his hips.

"Noel, what happened?"

"Dunno," he says.

Hope stares down at him. His left leg is bleeding heavily, red soaking through the fabric of his pants.

"Busted my leg pretty bad though."

"Damn."

He slides an arm underneath both his arm pits, pulls him up just like he has been instructed to. Noel hisses at the pain as he's being lifted up. The two of them make their way towards the entrance of the forest. It was supposed to be a simple mission, just map out some of the forest's routes and come back home. They had even been told they might not need their gear, but to bring it just in case. His squad had entered it no problem but when they came up to the trees, they'd heard them. And then—then he'd passed out. He can't remember anything else after that moment, only waking up to a war zone.

As they're walking back, the remains start to look familiar to him. He sees a black bandanna on something bloody. Snow, pity he kept talking about marrying his fiancee after he'd gotten the money from the expedition. He even sees Sazh's chocobo chick peeping helplessly nearby, he calls it over. It looks up at him, then flaps its tiny little wings, landing directly on his shoulder. Noel smiles at the little thing.

Hope hefts Noel up by the belt around his pants when he feels the boy—no man slipping from his grip. He doesn't have anything to treat the wound with. That stuff was Vanille's responsibility, he wonders if she'd made it out alive. She was always so sweet and optimistic, it'd be sad if they'd lost her on the first expedition. Noel puts his good foot down, snapping Hope out of his thoughts.

He presses a bloody finger to his lips, points at some random direction just outside the forest. Hope pauses, it's slight but it's there: a faint murmur of sound, a distant rumbling. He spots it first, a 15 Meter class, in all of its horrifying glory. It lumbers just outside the field. Walking in slow, lazy steps just beside Wall Maria. It's body is of course, completely naked but it has a fresh fuzz of brown hair on top of its head. It stops mid-step, then raises it's head to the wind, sniffing the air around it. Hope knows it's only a matter of time now and Noel watches in quiet horror. Slowly, the creature moves it's nose to the direction they're standing in. It pauses, then makes it's way towards the two. Hope can see it's eyes glinting in pure joy, it's mouth practically frothing out drool.

"Well I guess this is it, you can put me down if you want."

He smiles. "Even if I wanted to, I couldn't, I'm out of gas."

Noel nods to his gear, glinting silver in the sun's setting light. "Mine's not, just take it and run."

He shifts his feet, looks down for a moment. "No, I think-I think I'll just stay here. With you."

"Fuck man, you're a good person."

* * *

Levi's squadron is dispatched a little over an hour since the first expedition had entered the Titan's Forest and never returned. They are told the details of it: a simple recon mission, mapping the forest floors in order to gain a better understanding of the area but they had yet to return. It's a fool's errand to Levi, especially sending in people who had recently graduated to the area with the advice of not bringing proper equipment in. Under the cover of the night, he rides up with his squad to the edge of the forest and spots a fresh red stain on the field. He directs his horse over to it, sees a mess of Titan spit up and a small chocobo chick hiding nearby.


	2. The Longest Hour

_ Pre-Our Warzone. Noel and Hope ship out._

The graduation ceremony is over, his papers are filed for a chance at the Survey Corps. He hasn't made the top ten, he's expected as much from his scores on the physical training and the simulation exam. So he doesn't even bat an eyelash when the top ten are called up and he isn't part of the group.

His instructor is disappointed by his choice, he thinks Hope's better off on the sidelines where he can use his smarts to advance mankind's technology but he's already made up his mind: he doesn't want to end up like his father, who'd chosen a life within the Walls.

People are all saying their goodbyes the next day. It's sad, everyone's got their plans and places to go. They probably won't see each other again. They'll probably all meet back up for someone's funeral. He hopes it won't come to that, there hasn't been an attack in over a hundred years.

The squad he's placed in is made of veterans for the most part, only him and Noel are new. Sazh has been around for the longest and their squad leader Lightning was recently promoted to Commander but she's got at least four or five years of surveying under her belt. Their headquarters are cramped, more so than the barracks of the Military. Both Noel and him share a bunk bed together. He takes top, Noel takes the bottom. His mother still sends him embarrassing letters all the way from Wall Rose, he tucks them in a place where his squadmates can't find them.

Vanille and Fang are from a small rural village located in the forests of Wall Maria, Vanille is friendly and chatty. Fang is more reserved but cheeky when she does speak to him. He's fourteen now turning fifteen, some day he thinks he will return home an accomplished and old man. Some day they'll all be able to go outside the Walls without their vertical maneuvering gear.

Snow and Lightning know each other, he can see it in their calm familiarity. No one asks about it though, because Lightning is severe and Snow is—well Snow. The type of person who's jovial and good natured but leaves you unsure of whether or not he was joking or seriously that short-sighted.

Hope's first mission outside of the Walls comes fast and unexpectedly. They are briefed by a higher ranking officer, straight from the King's personal guards on the mission. It's simple, map out the Titan's Forest to get a better understanding of the layout. They'll go first, straight in the heart of it, sketching out the area.

Everyone packs their gear for the journey into the Forest. Vanille packs herbs and medicinals into her small satchel. Gives the bag a quick tug to close it. They're not allowed to bring anything heavy, just the essentials. So that's what he ends up taking, just his gear, some provisions and a change of clothes. He looks over at Noel's side and sees him packing almost the exact same thing. He regrets not getting a chance to know Noel a little better. But they ran in different crowds, had their own cliques during their Military days.

In fact Hope is a little surprised by Noel's choice. He's always talked about his tiny village and his little sister and grandmother and sending them money. He didn't make the top ten either. The Garrison paid pretty well, the last he'd checked but surveyors made the most because they're more likely to die.

Lightning barks at them all to meet back downstairs. No time for inner monologues, their duties awaited them. The horses are taken out of their stables. Their supplies are put on top of them, they ride out. Out of their small base, out of the small village housing their headquarters. And then—then out of the Walls. The bells ring marking their exit, it's exhilarating. He can see green all around him. The vast open plains and when he looks up, he sees the forest. Large trees bigger than any building he's ever seen in his hometown. Lightning stops her horse near the edge of the Titan's Forest, she puts a finger to her lips, tells them all to be careful, that even though the Titans shouldn't be in the area, they should take extra precaution. Then she leads her horse into the forest's opening. They all follow, carefully, slowly.

* * *

It should be quiet now, it really should. But Lightning's too tense and Snow's hands are on his equipment and Vanille's way too jumpy for her own good. Noel is looking back and forth as if expecting something to jump out at any minute. It happens so fast, the pounding of a huge Titan running towards them.

"Up!" Lightning screams. "Get up to the trees!"

The hiss of the maneuvering gear over the approaching Titan is deafening and Hope tries to shoot his to the tree but something slams into him. He blacks out from the blow.


End file.
